48-Hours of Magic

Local professional magician, Adam Smith, has a skill and charisma that has earnt him audiences with many celebrities including Kate Moss, Jude Law and Boris Becker. This month, Adam decided to perform his greatest act to date – an astounding 48-hours of magic on The Pantiles!

The purpose of this astonishing feat was to raise monies and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

“When I was 13 my mum, Sue, was diagnosed with MS. To see your mum go from the active lady that she was to being in a wheelchair almost overnight was heart-breaking. Although my mum was confined to a wheelchair, she never let it stop her being the most caring, outgoing and fun mum she could be and never showed my sister and myself the pain and anguish she was in.”

– Adam

Adam continued: “My mum had been through so much over the past 30 years and never once complained. She has been the most amazing mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend anyone could be. Seeing her with my children makes me smile all the time and I know how much the children inspire her and keep her going through the pain. My mum is always there for me through fun times and tough times, helping, caring and just being there to listen. I can never thank her enough. So I decided to do the 48-hour magic marathon to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis to help support and, hopefully one day, find a cure for this crippling disease.”

The magic marathon started at midday on Sunday 7th August and finished on Tuesday 9th August at the same time, where Adam only left the bandstand for comfort breaks. As well as watching a plethora of mind-bending magic tricks, audiences could also enjoy street entertainers and other attractions over the 48-hour period.

When the 48-hour mark was reached, crowds clapped and cheered, whilst Adam was in a mixed state of joy and exhaustion.

“I am so happy, but I feel like death! I really can’t keep the tears back, because I just wanted to do this for my mum.”

– Adam

The gruelling task left the magic man’s fingers calloused from the 26 decks of cards that he had used during the challenge. But despite the stress of performing for so long, Adam was in characteristically good spirits as he fascinated the audience with a range of 50 tricks from his position on the bandstand.

Adam’s mother Sue and father Dave were both there to see the end and spoke of their pride in their son’s achievement.

“I’m a bit teary because of what he has done. It has been a hard slog but he has been so well supported.”

– Sue

£3,000 was raised for Multiple Sclerosis during the magic marathon. In addition to the donations and sponsorship, those watching also participated in a raffle for dozens of gifts donated by retailers on The Pantiles which, when combined, had a price tag running into thousands of pounds.

Adam said, “The local traders have been so generous and I am very grateful for their support.”

Huge congratulations to Adam from everyone at The Pantiles!